| dc.description.abstract | Background. Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) is a type of head and neck cancer orising from the squamous cells of the nasopharyngeal epithelium. Although rare globally, NPC has a high incidence in East and Southeast Asia. Due to non specific early symptoms, NPC is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, impacting prognosis. NPC therapy involves various therapeutic modalities such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy or a combination of both. Criteria for assessing response to therapy can be determined using WHO criteria which are divided into 4 categories, namely complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), and progressive disease (PD). Objective. To determine the profile of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients receiving therapy at Murni Teguh Memorial Hospital Medan in 2023. Method. A descriptive observational study used cross-sectional approach was conducted at Murni Teguh Memorial Hospital Medan using a total sampling technique in the period from August to October 2024. Results. Among the sample, 80.9% were male with the largest age range of 19-59 years (80.9%). Stage III was the most common stage at diagnosis (55.1%) with non-keratinizing squamous cell cancer, undifferentiated subtype (97.9%), as the predominant histopathology. The majority of patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiation (55.3%) and mostly achieved a complete response (CR) (55.3%) after therapy. Conclusion. The results of this study indicate the high success rate of therapy given to NPC patients depending on the stage obtained because the higher the tumor stage, the lower the therapeutic response. | en_US |
